Inferring unbiased treatment effects has received widespread attention in the machine learning community. In recent years, our community has proposed numerous solutions in standard settings, high-dimensional treatment settings, and even longitudinal settings. While very diverse, the solution has mostly relied on neural networks for inference and simultaneous correction of assignment bias. New approaches typically build on top of previous approaches by proposing new (or refined) architectures and learning algorithms. However, the end result -- a neural-network-based inference machine -- remains unchallenged. In this paper, we introduce a different type of solution in the longitudinal setting: a closed-form ordinary differential equation (ODE). While we still rely on continuous optimization to learn an ODE, the resulting inference machine is no longer a neural network. Doing so yields several advantages such as interpretability, irregular sampling, and a different set of identification assumptions. Above all, we consider the introduction of a completely new type of solution to be our most important contribution as it may spark entirely new innovations in treatment effects in general. We facilitate this by formulating our contribution as a framework that can transform any ODE discovery method into a treatment effects method.

Washington, DC, February 27, 2018 – InSite, a leading business intelligence solution that enables better operational, financial, and environmental performance, is pleased to welcome Brian Snow as a strategic advisor, assisting the executive leadership team on technology strategy and growth. Brian is a General Partner in Impala Ventures, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on the disruptive commercial real estate technology sectors. Brian has written extensively on trends that are leading the digitization of facilities management and real estate and the advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. "Brian brings a wealth of industry knowledge and advisory experience, particularly in the digitization of facilities and real estate. We are excited to have him help us as we consider the rapidly developing market," said Davor Kapelina, InSite President and Founder.

Bell & Howell Mail-Processing Systems (Skokie, Ill.), a manufacturer of mail sorting, folding, and inserting equipment, has implemented an expert system solution at the core of its integrated service information technologies ( The goal is to facilitate the design of exhaust mufflers of inlet manifolds in hours instead of days. Aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md.) and the U.S. Air Force Manufacturing Technology Directorate (MANTECH) (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio) are working together on a virtual manufacturing project to apply modeling and simulation technology during the design process to prove out and select optimal new concepts. David Blanchard is the editor of Intelligent Systems Report, Intelligent Manufacturing, and the new Electronic Commerce Update.

Will physical shops cease to exist? Have we reached the end of online shopping in its current form? Are new technologies such as robots, drones, virtual and augmented reality taking over the shopping experience? These are some of the many questions that gathered retailers at the 2017 RetailDetail Congress in Schelle (Belgium), the pinnacle of the retail industry calendar. This event definitely resulted in food for thought on what to consider as a retailer in the very near future.

Amazon, Facebook and Apple already know it: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay and it will have a huge impact on our lives. And instead of fearing the inevitable, we had better talk about all the opportunities. We already see examples popping up were AI machines help with research tasks like survey design, qualitative moderation and data analysis. It will help us save time, which will allow us to focus on those parts of our jobs that are really of added value: understanding the business issues, crafting powerful consumer insights and bringing those to life in front of managers. But can AI do even more for us?

Ideas to keep in mind as the AI-ce Age thaws. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long lived in the recesses of our subconscious with an almost relentless half-life that allows the principle to remain vivid and potent even after countless false dawns over the last 70 years. This is likely to do with our cultural fascination with automation that appears incessantly in various forms of entertainment: from movies, to books, to music. With this we have created a cocoon of fascination where the limits of our knowledge are boundlessly extended to points of contention we are not well-versed in but feel a part of. This is what makes AI such a pressing reality – it concerns us all, but perhaps, the extent to which it will impact us all is not as solidly grasped.